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Did dangerous political climate change start this week?

Politically obsessed Washington is flipping out over the stunning upset of
Eric Cantor, the No. 2 ranking Republican in the House. The Majority
Leader lost Tuesday's primary to Dave Brat, a little known Virginia
college professor from the tea party wing of the GOP.

Many of the experts, especially the TV talking-head variety, say
his loss means it will be even tougher for House Republicans to compromise with
the Democratic minority on anything. Some are predicting another two years of
gridlock in the House because of this one primary defeat.

Some Washington-based pundits believe that Cantor bit the dust
because he supported immigration reform. But talks with nonpundits and people in
his Richmond district indicate that there were other factors afoot. A former
D.C.-based newsman, a longtime resident of Richmond, indicated that "a lot of
voters found him aloof and absent. They feel he has 'Gone Washington' in his quest
for the job as majority leader." Indeed, Cantor was in Washington on primary day,
rather than poll-hopping and hand-shaking in his district just 90 miles from D.C.
A Richmond school teacher said Cantor was rarely visible and seemed more
"Washington-focused."

Whether Cantor's political demise is proof of major political
climate change, remains to be seen.

Ironically, the day after his defeat the Senate passed a
bipartisan bill designed, backers say, to cure the ills of the VA's medical
system. The bill, by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John McCain
(R-Ariz.), gives VA streamlined power to fire top career employees and ends
bonuses in the third largest federal agency. The House had previously cleared
similar bipartisan legislation.

The bipartisan crackdown on the VA has split groups representing
federal workers.

J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of
Government Employees, blamed chronic medical staff shortages for much of the
problem. He said "numerous front-line medical jobs" still haven't been filled and
this is responsible for the long wait times. He said in some areas, VA made
promises it couldn't keep. In that kind of enviroment, he said, "instances of
wait list gaming become almost inevitable."

The Senior Executives Association says the Sanders-McCain bill is a rush
to judgment, dealing with a problem Congress and top VA officials "have known
about for 15 years." President Carol Bonosaro said since 1999, numerous VA IG
reports, Government Accountability Office reports and other inspections have
consistently pointed out the problems. While she said some of the proposed
changes are commendable and long overdue, "the easy-fire provisions affecting
career members of the SES address neither real accountability for individual
actions nor the root causes of access to patient care for veterans."

Combat tax break for feds?

Meantime, somebody obviously didn't get the word that cooperation
between House Democrats and Republicans is dead.

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
endorsed a bill by Virginia Republicans Frank Wolf and Rob Wittman
and Democrat Gerry E. Connolly to give tax breaks to feds in combat zones.
Currently, military personnel and contractors get special treatment, but it is not
available to the many civilians serving, some of them in very covert and dangerous
posts.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

The famous font, Times New Roman, was first printed on Oct. 2, 1932 in the
British newspaper, The Times.

Why is change so hard to accomplish in
government?
They may have the best of intentions, but people who have not spent time working
within the bureaucracy rarely understand the complexities of changing government,
particularly in this era of partisanship, says former DHS CHCO Jeff Neal.

Lawmakers push to
approve unified veterans' bill
After two overwhelming votes in two days, members of Congress say they are
confident they can agree on a bill to improve veterans' health care and send it to
the president's desk by the end of the month.